Startup news and updates: daily roundup (January 24, 2023)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
Trisha Medhi
Tuesday January 24, 2023 , 7 min Read
University Living partners with One Vasco to provide student visa concierge services
has partnered with One Vasco to provide student visa concierge services.
Students applying to One Vasco for student visa concierge services will have direct access to University Living’s student accommodation services, at no extra cost, in the destination countries where they wish to study.
The agreement between the two companies will also allow students who have approached University Living directly for their accommodation services, to access One Vasco’s student visa assistance service comprising concierge-level visa service and specialised support throughout the entire visa application process.
ReSight Global acquires UX firm PeepalDesign
, an employee-owned UX research and design organisation, has acquired controlling interest in PeepalDesign.
Bengaluru-based PeepalDesign is a UX research and design agency with over 65 full-time UX researchers and Designers.
This acquisition offers many benefits to clients of ReSight Global, including access to 220 UX experts around the globe, with offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, Chicago, London, Basel, Hamburg, Munich, Bengaluru, and Pune.
“Apart from being able to work more closely with a talented team, ReSight Global companies can now offer seamless and high-quality research in a market that becomes more and more important globally,” said Tim Bosenick, Managing Director of ReSight Global and Co-founder of uintent.
LegalPay enters into a joint venture with Goldi Solar Group
has entered into a joint venture with Goldi Solar Group to form a Legal and Insolvency Financing NBFC, Padmalaya Finserve. The NBFC plans to disburse Rs 1,000 crore worth of loans aimed towards legal expenses.
This strategic alliance will bring forward the expertise and resources of both organizations and provide innovative solutions to businesses for financing legal expenses. LegalPay partners with various NBFCs to provide embedded legal financing to businesses at no-cost EMIs.
Bizongo appoints Prasanth Nair as Head of Engineering
, vendor digitisation platform for brands and enterprises, has appointed of Prasanth Nair as Senior Vice President of Engineering. This is Bizongo’s third senior-level appointment in six months. Earlier in November, Bizongo appointed tech veteran Tushar Kamat as Chief Business Officer.
The appointment comes at a time when Bizongo is amplifying its tech stack and introducing newer offerings to enable manufacturers and enterprises across verticals, such as textile, agriculture, consumer durables, FMCG, and metals, to expand their manufacturing potential and combat procurement challenges.
Garage Worldwide appoints Sanjay Deshmukh as CEO
Design, digital and content agency Garage Worldwide appoints Sanjay Deshmukh as the CEO.
Over the years, he has worked on a number of brands and categories from FMCG to banking, fashion, telecom, tourism, automobile, technology, and politics and created successful brand stories and growth strategies. He has also helped the IIT start-up group with GTM strategies.
Nutrilitius appoints Saurabh Walkar as director
Nutrilitius, an online platform that offers the best quality nuts and dry fruits in India, has onboarded Saurabh Walkar as its Director.
In his current role at the organisation, Saurabh will mentor the management team. He will be identifying gaps in the market and steering product development that will contribute to the fortification of the company’s product portfolio and help them better understand the product-market fit, said the company in the statement.
Prodigi.ai acquires data analytics startup CubeBase
has acquired Coimbatore-based data analytics platform CubeBase at an undisclosed value. This comes after Prodigi.ai raised Series A funding led by Celesta Capital.
The company said it complements its vision to provide actionable insights and predictive intelligence to its teleradiology services. Further, it will help Prodigi.ai enhance its existing machine-learning technologies to provide deep insights and automation capabilities.
CubeBase worked with Prodigi for its data management and application development needs, and its team has also been familiar with the latter's products and offerings. Therefore, the acquisition has helped Prodigi.ai bring together a significant pool of talent who are already aligned with the brand’s vision and mission.
HARMAN to take legal action against counterfeit sale and infringed JBL and Infinity products
HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co, would be taking legal action against parties involved in the manufacture and sale of fake JBL and Infinity Car Audio products in India.
HARMAN is the parent company for leading iconic audio brands including JBL, AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, and Revel, among others.
Recent raids by HARMAN in three markets in Bengaluru have led to the discovery of four Car aftermarket dealers peddling counterfeit JBL and Infinity products.
HARMAN's investigation team along with the law enforcement officers seized over 500 counterfeits as well as infringed JBL and Infinity Car Audio products. The team discovered products in two places that were misusing the JBL mark as JBZ and IGL and selling counterfeit goods in packaging that was deceptively similar to that of JBL and Infinity. HARMAN seized the infringed goods and the offenders have been subjected to appropriate legal procedure.
IIT Roorkee-backed Indi Energy wins National Award 2022
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee’s (IIT Roorkee) startup Indi Energy, which specialises in manufacturing Sodium-Ion batteries, has won the National Startup Awards 2022 in ‘Energy Storage’ category.
The award, presented recently in Delhi, recognises and celebrates the most promising and innovative startups in India. In recognition of the achievement, the certificate of commendation was presented by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industries.
The third edition of the awards was aimed at honouring businesses that offer innovative and ground-breaking solutions that encourage the nation’s sustainable economic development and provide large-scale employment opportunities.
MicroGO partners with Bhailal Amin General Hospital to install GOassure LITE+
, a solution provider in smart and sustainable hygiene and infection prevention solutions, has partnered with Bhailal Amin General Hospital (BAGH), a healthcare provider based out of Vadodara, Gujarat to install hand hygiene compliance monitoring system, GOassureTMLITE+.
The product is installed in 24 ICU beds to ensure the highest level of care to patients and to reduce the chances of hospital-acquired infections during ICU admissions.
GOassureTM LITE+ is built to capture and alarm each hand hygiene opportunity of the healthcare worker or anyone approaching the patient.
Dekulture launches 3 stores in Bengaluru, to raise around Rs 100 Cr
Dekulture Works, a lifestyle brand inspired by India's ancient art and culture, has entered the offline retail industry with three stores in Bengaluru. The first studio is located in Phoenix Market City, Whitefield, Bengaluru, while two other stores are in premium localities of Sadashivnagar and HSR Layout.
These stores feature over 800 exclusive products in various categories such as home and living, kitchen and dining, stationery, music, and much more. The company plans to expand its presence in Delhi, Mumbai, and other metro cities in the near future and is also in discussions to raise around Rs 100 crore for its expansion.
Myntra launches Akshay Kumar's fashion brand 'Force IX'
has debuted actor Akshay Kumar's fashion brand, Force IX, on its platform.
Force IX’s collection consists of smartly designed durable, economical, and functional fashion staples inspired by the popular actor’s iconic no-fuss-yet-dapper sense of style. The brand’s curtain raiser collection will go live on Myntra on January 26.
To begin with, Force IX shall offer more than 70 options across a trendy range of t-shirts, sweatshirts and caps on Myntra, targeted towards the thriving base of streetwear and casual wear consumers across metros, Tier I and beyond cities.
Aye Finance to open 87 branches across India
, a lender to the underserved segment of micro-enterprises, has announced the opening of 87 branches in the current fiscal, taking its presence to 396 locations in 22 states.
Founded in 2014, Aye offers a cluster-based credit appraisal approach and an optimally digitised phygital model. Using these customised methodologies, the lender has disbursed over Rs 6,600 crore of loans to the sector.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh
